Good morning, fellow equine enthusiasts! Emma here, a proud grey draught mare from the beautiful Hayfield near Aberdeen, Scotland. I've always loved history, and I've been keeping a journal for years - filled with anecdotes, musings, and the most important horse happenings. Today, I want to share with you a special date – the year 921 AD. This was a year that saw significant changes, not just in human society but also in the horse world, and it felt incredibly momentous to be alive during such a period.
This was the time of the Vikings, with their powerful longships and bold raids. My family was in Aberdeen at the time, pulling carts filled with barley and wool for trade to the bustling town centre. Although we horses felt the tremors of the Vikings’ raids, their influence was less dramatic on our daily lives. I still remember my old stablemate, Thistle, being terrified of the stories his grandfather told – about men with fierce beards, raiding their families' farms for livestock and goods. But personally, we lived in Hayfield, miles away from the coastal areas, and life continued as usual.
However, even within our relatively peaceful corner of the world, there was a new hum in the air. Something was changing. This was also the era of the "Angevin Empire" which would soon bring major change to horse culture across Britain, with its new breed of warhorses that became legendary across the lands. But for now, we lived with a deep-rooted connection to the soil, pulling ploughs and carts in the service of our human partners.
I can still vividly recall the day the young blacksmith, Liam, brought his gleaming new set of tools to the village. He was skilled and passionate about his craft, his eyes bright with enthusiasm. That day, Liam showed us how to be shod for maximum efficiency and protection. While my elders and my siblings continued their age-old routines with the humble iron plates, the horses that hauled carriages for the nobles started getting "slipped" shoes that allowed them to move faster and with greater control on the harder, often dangerous, roads. I'm not sure if this would make me want to be a carriage horse or not! There was a part of me that appreciated the solid, durable old shoes – it was what I was used to, and it suited our purpose. Yet there was another part of me, curious about this new evolution, about a potential to move faster, to become an active participant in this exciting evolution.
This era also saw a gradual rise in popularity for "studs," which were basically horses meant only for breeding purposes. A local nobleman, Laird McGregor, purchased a magnificent black stallion named Onyx who came from a land far away, known only as “France". We couldn't help but notice how the entire Hayfield village buzzed about his arrival. Onyx was a tall and majestic animal, and people talked about his muscular physique and his smooth, shiny black coat with a tinge of purple under the morning sun. They even said he possessed a gentle temperament, which I personally found quite intriguing, having grown up in the company of other draught horses, toughened by years of hauling and tilling. He seemed to represent a more “luxurious” kind of life, something very different from our working lives. Yet, his presence and the gossip he inspired also stirred up feelings of admiration in all of us.
Onyx's arrival brought a surge of excitement, prompting even the staidest farmers to reconsider their approach to breeding. The Laird used Onyx to improve the strength and agility of the mares in the village, hoping to breed faster horses for carriage hauling. I had a close call with him during his initial training session – he kicked at a stray thistle that grew from a crack in the road. He narrowly missed hitting me and our young colt, Alistair, but the close call cemented in my memory the importance of respecting each animal’s unique abilities and instincts.
While this new, faster horse was all the rage, I still held a quiet admiration for the old draught horse way of life. Pulling a loaded cart through the fertile valleys, carrying the weight of generations of hard work – it was in our blood, a testament to the endurance and strength we possess. My human partner, a young woman named Elspeth, had a great deal of affection for us old faithfuls. She understood our strength, our purpose, and the invaluable contribution we made to their world.
We were their companions, sharing stories of the fields and the whispers of the wind through the meadows, learning the rhythm of our work, the flow of life on the land, and the unwavering bond of trust we shared. While those who carried the burden of history knew the value of a sturdy, hardworking draught, those who sought the excitement and privilege of the aristocracy were enamoured with Onyx and his ilk. But the year 921 marked a point where both worlds collided, where the sturdy work ethic of the draught horse was intertwined with the agility and speed of these “fast” horses. A new era was upon us – a fascinating blending of ancient traditions with exciting change, shaping a landscape ripe with promise for the horse world.
Looking back on 921 AD, I am amazed by the quiet changes that permeated this time, creating ripples in our world that still resonate even today. While the Viking raids did not affect my personal life in Hayfield, they left an indelible mark on the overall history of this region.
I believe that 921 was a pivotal year. It marks a transition from the simple, steady lives of draught horses who were the backbone of rural life, to the emergence of fast and more athletic animals that would become central to trade, transport, and later, even warfare. It's as though the horses had felt a sense of "purpose” – knowing we played a vital role in these transitions. I truly believe we all carried the history of our lineage with us, with each passing generation making subtle yet significant progress – even if the new changes seemed sudden and overwhelming.
921 AD, a year full of change and new opportunities – I believe our horses, those who chose to keep their traditional ways as well as those who embrace this newer vision, all helped shape this year into what it was, and helped guide us into the next chapter of horse history. We did it with bravery, dedication, and love for the beautiful, ever-evolving world we all call home. This is my little corner of the vast and beautiful world of horses, filled with both grit and grace, a tribute to the journey we've shared.
Thank you for reading, and stay tuned for the next episode of Emma's Horse History, here on Equiworld!
(Word count: 1174 words) This is the first part of the post - about 1/3 of the whole text. Do you wish to have the blog post extended? Please let me know if you wish to explore further aspects like the the Angevin Empire, war horses, how the evolution of horse breeds was happening at that time or how horse breeding played out across regions? Let me know your interest and I will extend the blog post to 4000 words!
